Written in the Stars
by makorrashenanigans
Summary: Companion piece to "Welcoming the Heartache". Summary will be posted up later when one can be thought of :P Please check it out though it currently doesn't have a summary!
1. Noah

Written in the Stars

Hiya guys! Well, this is my newest story, and before you read any further I would just like to say that Dylan will be out of character . . . you know what? All my characters will be kind of out of character because 1) they are not the original Max and Fang and 2) they did not go through the same past as the original Max and Fang. So keep that in mind, their backgrounds and such (:

Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride, but I do own this story (: yay

Rating: Strong T; later for language and adult issues

**Important: Keep track of the characters' eye colors okay? This is excruciatingly important you have no idea lol.**

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><p>Noah<p>

A boy raised his head from his painting, watching as men, dressed in navy blue uniforms, walked through the hallways, one of them carrying an unconscious girl in their arms. Her long brown hair dangled in lifeless curls, her skin pale and her cheeks missing its healthy pink blush. The hurried shuffling of feet itself made the boy nervous, and he closed his eyes, gripping his paintbrush tightly in his hand as he murmured a quick prayer.

Rain pounded heavily against the glass windows of the children's hospital, the storm and chaos outside, visible from the inside, doubling the downhearted atmosphere that surrounded the hospital.

A few hours after the girl had been brought in, a dark figure slipped into the room where she rested. The room was larger than most, but there was never really anyone in it besides the girl and the few nurses and doctors that came in and out regularly. The parents of the girl, ironically, were both doctors themselves, but were so caught up in their own troubles at work to have time to visit their daughter. Perhaps that was why the girl had turned out with a rebellious attitude.

"Hey, Max, you asleep?" a voice whispered quietly, gently touching her on the shoulder. He cringed at how cold she felt, even through the layer of her hospital garments, albeit its thinness.

The girl turned in her bed, her chocolate brown eyes coming into direct contact with his emerald green eyes, which were never good in hiding emotion. "Am I ever asleep?" she answered back, a weak smile on her lips. She always tried to conceal the hurt and sorrow she felt when her parents called, informing her that they were too busy to meet her that day. It hurt more than all the medications and treatments she had to endure to get better, the rejection, the loneliness. But amidst all her sadness, she always had someone to cheer her up, and it was the young boy standing at her bedside, his knowing green eyes communicating that he understood her, really understood.

"What happened to you today, Max? When they brought you in, I got so scared, I thought that you – " he trailed off slightly, looking away from her curious big brown eyes, " – I thought I lost you." He glanced down at the piece of paper in his hands that had crumpled a little under his tight grip. "I made you this to cheer you up." The boy smiled nervously as he lifted the white piece of paper, handing it over to her. Max glided her fingertips lightly over the dried paint, feeling the creases and bumps along the way, a smile forming on her lips as she traced around a certain part of the painting. "I know it's not much, but –"

"It's amazing," she breathed, genuinely in awe of her friend's artistic abilities. Then, she looked up from the painting, a silly grin plastered on her face, her white teeth standing out in the dark. "Noah, are we holding hands in the picture?"

He smiled uneasily, his cheeks and the tips of his ears burning. "Not if you don't want us to be," he replied timidly. "I can paint over it if you want."

Max chuckled softly, a siren's song to the boy's ears. "I love it. Now c'mere, I'm cold." She patted the spot beside her on the bed and scooted herself over so that the boy could get in. Normally, Max didn't associate with boys a lot, because she believed that they were immature, and would stay that way until sometime after high school. But Noah was her exception. It was kind of hard not to grow up quickly, considering that there was a chance that they wouldn't make it into adulthood or perhaps even adolescence. She'd always talk about death while he was the optimistic one of the two, always reassuring her that they would make it, that nothing would happen to either of them. He spoke with such confidence in his voice that Max wished she could be as brave as her best friend, but she didn't know that he put on the brave face for her so she wouldn't be scared. But deep inside, they were both terrified of their future because they understood that it wouldn't be a bright and happy one.

~:*:~

_Nine years later . . ._

A young woman giggled as a man, beside her in bed, leaned over and trailed kisses from her stomach to the underside of her left breast. "Dylan," she warned playfully, tapping the tip of his nose lightly. She gazed at the handsome man before her, his clean-cut brown hair that matched his clear blue eyes perfectly. He whined in response and allowed his tan, lean and toned body to collapse on top of her small one. "Dylan," she breathed, her arms wrapping around his neck as he nuzzled hers. "I need you."

He groaned before rolling them so that she was on top of him. "Maria, we talked about this. You're not healthy enough for sexual intercourse." He stared her straight in the eyes as he spoke, feeling regret that he'd said anything when her big brown eyes briefly turned sorrowful before narrowing at him.

"For once, just _once, _can you pretend that you're not my doctor? Damn it, Dylan, every time I start forgetting, you're always here to remind me." She unwound her arms around his neck and pushed herself up angrily, feeling like an idiot asking him to make love to her and then getting rejected – _again._

He got up quickly and grabbed her hand before she could leave their bed. "Maria," he said softly, squeezing her hand, "it's not that I _don't _want you. But if something happens to you and it's because of _me_, I won't ever live it down. Baby, you're everything to me. If I lose you, I lose everything."

"Don't you mean that you'll lose the enormous paycheck that my parents give you to watch over me?" she whispered quietly, but bitterly. "If you don't love me, fine, but don't try and fool me into thinking that you do."

And though she expected it, she couldn't help but feel pain in her heart when he didn't say anything further. When he didn't try and fight for her. The woman glanced at her engagement ring that mocked her from their bedside drawer, and for a moment, she didn't want to leave. But she needed to get away from him. She needed to get away from who she was.

~:*:~

The owner of dark midnight eyes watched whiskey swirling in his glass, before tilting his head and consuming it within one big gulp. It was almost a daily routine to stop by the bar and catch a shot of whiskey, but today, today was different. Because amongst all the drunk men that he'd expect to see, there was a beautiful woman, her brown hair cascading over her shoulders in shiny waves, her chocolate eyes both sweet and mesmerizing, and it was obvious that he wasn't the only one that had caught sight of her, a drunk man watching her in every direction. And it just so happened that only a few minutes ago she'd removed her white pea coat and placed it around the chair next to his. She'd given him a slight smile but he could tell that she wasn't here to associate with anyone, nor was she here to get drunk, but she was here for the same reason he was.

She wanted to forget.

"What do you suggest will hit me the hardest?" she asked him through the loud music.

The man turned, his breath catching in his throat when he'd realized just _how _gorgeous the woman next to him was. Her smooth, pale skin and her pink lips made him wonder what a girl like her was doing in a bar, made him want to know what was so bad that she wanted desperately to forget. "I'm not sure, do you drink a lot?" When she shook her head and told him that it was her first time, he smirked, curious now. "Well what's the occasion, bad break-up, didn't get the promotion?"

"I just need to forget my name for a while," she answered somberly.

Her answer struck the man hard because it was what he'd said the first time he began drinking too. "Then I recommend you go the old-fashioned way and get a glass of whiskey."

She grinned, forgetting who she was for a split second and said, "If I get drunk, you're not going to take advantage of me are you?"

His eyes widened slightly at her boldness although it was just a conversation-starting joke. "You're not really my type so you have nothing to worry about." When she didn't reply with a flirty comeback like _all _girls did, he knew he'd made a mistake, automatically judging her without getting to really know her. He didn't know that being rejected – even by a stranger at a local bar – caused the girl to feel unwanted. "Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way. It's just that –"

"It's fine," she interjected. "I'm used to it." And she was, her parents rejected her all her life.

And she was _sick _of it.

He extended out his hand, "I'm Fang, the asshole of this bar." This was the man's take on lightening up the tense air, because he honestly didn't mean any harm when he'd said that she wasn't his type. He was just speaking what he believed to be the truth.

The woman chuckled softly, shaking his hand. "I'm Maria." She smiled at him and the young man relaxed in his chair. Maria took a quick onceover of the man beside her, his short black hair sitting perfectly on top of his head, his masculine jaw line, and his dark, mysterious eyes that she presumed many girls had gotten lost in. He tied the look together with a black leather jacket and black pants, epitomizing the phrase, '_tall, dark and handsome'_.

After a few rounds of drinks, the two strangers began to bond, not necessarily talking about themselves or their personal lives, but just talking and telling jokes. Both of them laughing, something they hadn't done in too long. Fang had finished telling another joke, watching the female carefully as she tried containing her laughter, but failing miserably. Everything was going well until her phone rang, a certain ringtone, for a certain person, pulling her back to reality. "I have to take this, sorry," she whispered to him and he nodded, understanding.

"Maria, where are you?" a voice said through the phone, worry evident in his voice. "I came home and you weren't here. Maria –"

She tensed, but looked over her shoulder, seeing the dark-haired man, and decided against her initial reaction. "I'm fine, Dylan. I'm just with a friend."

"Where? I'll come and pick you up. You know that you're not supposed to go out without anyone with you."

Her hand tightened around the phone. He was making her remember again. Who she was. "I said I was with a friend," she said tersely. "And you didn't exactly want me this morning."

"Maria –"

Before she could hear another word, or maybe before he could convince her, she hung up on him, walking back to her seat next to the man, but not sitting down. "Who was that?" he asked, though the look on her face told him all he needed to know. "Boyfriend?"

She looked into his eyes, seeing his true concern over the issue, and sighed. "No, my doctor. It was just my doctor." Saying that Dylan, her fiancé, was just her doctor felt weird on her tongue, but at the same time, it was the truth. He was her doctor more than he was her partner and it hurt her too much. It just hurt.

"You okay?" Fang asked sincerely.

That question, the question she'd heard way too many times in her life said indifferently, said just for the hell of it, said just for_ pity_ caused her pain to the chest. And just then, she allowed herself to drown in her darkness. It seemed that everyone expected her to die anyways, so she stopped caring. She stopped fighting.

As soon as she fell, Fang leapt from his chair and caught her in his strong arms. She'd looked up at him with her half-glazed eyes, a small smile on her face. She'd whispered a 'thank you' before she allowed her eyes to roll to the back of her head, and lastly, she'd breathed the name of her best friend.

Fang's face drained of color, his midnight orbs widening, his heart pounding in his ears in response to the sound of that name. The name that brought back so many memories. The reason why _he _wanted to forget too. The person he wanted to forget.

_Noah._

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><p>Mysterious enough for ya? Lol. I'll edit later haha :D<p>

Since almost all of you voted for a surprise, I have done exactly that. This story will _not _be your typical cliché high school story, but instead I'm taking a risk**.** Max and Fang are _not_ horny teenagers like in most stories, but if you're willing to give this a chance, I promise it'll make up for it lacking the high school drama. In this story, Max and Fang are in their early twenties; I still have some researching to do because I want to make this accurate.

I've had this idea for quite some time now, but I wanted both myself _and _my writing to mature a little bit more before I began this story. So, since I'm posting, I think I'm ready lol. Please, _please _be supportive. It'd be nice to know what you guys think from getting away from the typical Max and Fang in high school stories (not that there's anything wrong with them, I wrote one myself). **I just want to know if it's pointless posting a story a non-high school fiction on a teenage populated fandom ( since I too am a teen ) . **

For my "**Welcoming the Heartache**" readers, I have decided (yesterday lol) that I WILL continue that story. I feel bad leaving it off like that and yeah . . .

For my "**Of Sun and Moon**" readers, I'm so sorry I haven't updated yet. But I've hit writers block and I just need some more time! I'm super sorry! But I promise I'll try and make it worth the wait!

**Can** **we** **please reach 15 reviews**? So that I know that people are willing to take a break from the cliché and walk into the realm of something, well, different? Thanks for those who read, double thanks and chocolate chip cookies to those who review :D

Have a nice day guys!


	2. Knight

Written In the Stars

**You. Guys. Are. Freaking. Amazing.**

Please read my A/N at the bottom for further gushing on the topic of your amazingness (:

Try and enjoy this chapter though it's a bit sucky. This is kind of a filler chapter, but it expounds more on Maria and Dylan's relationship and Maria and Fang's. It's got Fax so hopefully it'll be bearable lol ^^

Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride

Rating: T for language and adult-ish themes (not really, since I'm only a teen lol)

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><p>Knight<p>

The beeping sound of a heart monitor reverberated against the white walls of a silent room in which a young man and woman were brought together. Fang lifted his head from his hands tiredly, a sigh falling from his lips as he mused on how he got himself into this mess. He didn't necessarily feel resentment towards the girl, but more so towards the hospital itself, for which Fang had a deep abhorrence. Though he felt out of place and uncomfortable, awkward even, he couldn't help but feel responsible for the person that lay in the bed.

When he had yelled for someone to call 911 back at the bar, while he held her body close to his, he had felt, even for the slightest moment, her small, warm hand closed around his. Like aforesaid, it was only for a slight moment, and then it slackened when she lost full consciousness. But in that moment, that _slight_ moment, he felt a connection to her, something he'd always wanted to experience. So maybe that was why when the paramedics came, he felt inclined, _obligated_, to keep watch over her until she woke again.

A doctor had entered the room not long ago, informing him of her condition with such solemnity, as if Fang had actually known her before that day. The nurses that would check on her would give him a sorrowful, almost _pitiful_, look, trying so hard to be sympathetic, but only causing further turmoil. With their smiling, reassuring façades, nurses and doctors possessed a deceitful nature. A nature that would not only give their patients false hope, but also _false__comfort_, and that, was the most evil of their deceptions.

Fang looked around the room at anywhere, really, besides the woman who lay in the bed so peacefully. Her expensive blouse and designer pants had been replaced with a thin, light-blue garment that matched the dullness of the dreary room and the energy that circulated throughout the hospital. It was as if _she_, a woman so previously full of life and now limp on a hospital bed, was the embodiment of what a hospital could do to a person, there, lay the reason behind Fang's hatred for places like this one.

Within an hour, a yawning moan was heard from the woman, and dark eyes snapped to the source of sound. Fang smiled at what he saw, because the girl had beaten the effects of the hospital and was now coming to, her eyes squinting at him sleepily. He stood up from his chair, where he'd sat tensely for the better half of the hour, and scrambled towards the bed with a somewhat goofy grin he tried hard to conceal. "Hey," she croaked out, "what'd I miss?" The way she talked to him, so freely, like they'd been acquaintances for far longer than they had, astonished Fang. It was almost like she trusted him in such a short amount of time _just_ because of what they'd gone through together.

And instead of answering her question with another, ones like '_how __are __you __ feeling?__' _or _'__are __you __alright?__'_ he replied with, "Not much. Just someone collapsing at a bar and a knight in shining armor coming to her rescue." His response was playful and joking, something neither of the two expected, because the man himself was neither 'playful' nor 'joking'. It was at this moment, when Maria realized that he was not like other men in her life, that she decided the man was very likeable, despite the callous air she initially got from him at the bar. But perhaps that was _why_she liked him . . . because he _didn__'__t_ care.

And maybe . . . he _ wouldn__'__t _care about her malady and _ wouldn__'__t _remind her everyday of it.

~:*:~

It was only a thin, white curtain that separated Fang from Maria, who was currently changing behind said curtains. After a brief, yet dragging, final examination, Maria was finally discharged from the hospital. The only reason why the last check-up seemed to drag on, and why Fang was furious up until this moment, was because a lustful male doctor had been the one doing the 'examining'. He'd touched her _too_ _intimately_ for _too_ _long_, the worst part being how he would look up cheekily at her face to watch for any 'responses' to his 'maneuvers'.

Maria stepped from behind the curtain, back in her own clothes, a hand running tiredly through her brown locks. Her cheeks were flushed, comparable to that of a person that had just been embarrassed or shamed, and when she looked up into Fang's midnight orbs, all her exhaustion reflected in her eyes. Fang's hands clenched into fists, his jaw tightening at the sight of her so . . . _defeated_. And it was then that the doctor, who had humiliated the woman, decided to walk into the room. And it was then that Fang decided to punch the other man in the jaw, hard.

~:*:~

"So, I guess this is goodbye," Maria said quietly, her toes looking to bury themselves in the cement sidewalk. When she received nothing but a curt nod from Fang, the man who had saved her more than once in the single day, she allowed herself to be bold and gave him a hug. She was standing on her tiptoes when she'd whispered, "Maybe we'll see each other around," her warm breath tickling his ear.

The young man responded with yet another nod, his hands stuffing into the pockets of his leather jacket, a passive look on his face. Her shoulders slumped slightly, bewildered by Fang's quick change in disposition, all hope of her finding her knight and shining armor going down the drain, giving her one of the greatest letdowns in her life. Hesitantly, she stepped into the yellow cab that was parked in front of the hospital entrance, glancing down at her lap as Fang closed the door for her. Thoughts of never seeing him again crossed her mind and, to her surprise, she was _saddened_by the idea. It was the same sinking feeling someone would get if they were ever in the midst of losing a friend . . .

In about an hour, Maria was opening the door to her luxury penthouse that she shared with Dylan. And there, on the other side, was the man who she least wanted to see at the moment. He was a well kempt guy, with nicely combed hair and striking blue eyes, and his partner sometimes wondered how she ended up with him. It wasn't because she thought better of herself, but in fact the complete opposite. She believed that a guy like Dylan Halstead, a wealthy man with a bright future, didn't belong with her. When she was around him, she was reminded. She was reminded that she wasn't good enough for him. That she wasn't good enough for _anyone_, not even her own parents.

"Maria," he breathed, rushing to her side to bury a hand in her brown hair and kiss her. He did so for two reasons: one, to display his affections and two, to ensure that she was _real_, and that she wasn't a cruel trick that his mind was playing on him. She was so perfect, so precious, that he sometimes didn't believe she was real, and sometimes, he didn't believe that she was _his._ Because though Maria believed she wasn't worthy of him, he was convinced that she was a Godsend, his angel. The only problem was . . . he had a hard time expressing his feelings for her. "Baby, I'm so sorry about this morning. I didn't mean to upset you, I just –," he paused, searching for the proper words, "-I just can't. I can't lose you."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, needing to feel his warmth, needing _him_. "Then keep me," she replied softly, gently stroking his cheek with her thumb before looking up into his sapphire orbs, a pleading look in her eyes. "Make me stay, Dylan." She bit her lip, moving her hands to the hem of her blouse. "Make me forget."

Dylan could've smashed his lips to hers, removed her blouse that she was already in the midst of removing herself, and made hot, passionate love to her right then and there. It was what both of them needed in their relationship, but this wasn't a fairytale, and not even unicorns and rainbows could mask the fissure growing in their relationship.

"We can't," he whispered, and did so with the gentlest voice he could muster. "Baby, we can't."

Dylan Halstead, a wealthy man with a bright future, was tied to Maria Batchelder with an engagement ring. Dylan Halstead was the Head Surgeon's favorite doctor.

The Head Surgeon was Maria Batchelder's father . . .

At the hurtful blow of yet _another_ rejection, Maria removed her hand from his cheek, pulling away from his body, distancing herself from him. Brown eyes narrowed at blue ones, not from anger, but from incredulity. She'd given him everything she could've possibly given, her body, her _love_, but nothing seemed to be good enough. His rejection was like an insult to her womanhood and, like so many other times, she felt undesirable. "Right," she replied coolly, refraining from showing any emotion. "I'm gonna go shower."

"Maria," he started, detecting the offended look she had pithily displayed.

"Don't Dylan," she snapped. "Just . . . please don't."

And just like that, Dylan gave up. He didn't even try to console her, didn't try to make her tell him what was wrong, didn't go after her. Not even when he heard their bathroom door slam shut, not even when she slid down against the other side of the door, and not even when he _heard _her release her sorrow in heartbreaking sobs. So there she was, curled up against a door on the cold marble floor, her hand pressed against her chest in hopes that it might stifle her sobs. Maria really hated crying, showing weakness in general, it wasn't her, but lately she just couldn't help it.

Lately, she couldn't help but feel unwanted.

So that night, when she lay beside her fiancé, Maria closed her eyes, a lone tear gliding down her cheek, and thought of the man she'd met today. It was a small smile she gave, reminiscing back on what he said to her in the ambulance, when he thought she wasn't listening. _You__'__re __not __alone_, he'd whispered, giving her hand a light squeeze. And with those words, and the slightest comfort that someone may actually care for her, the girl was ultimately able to bring sleep upon herself that night, thinking about her knight in shining armor.

Maybe the Maker of the universe took mercy on the lonely woman, or maybe it was written somewhere in the stars, but Maria would be, after this day, lonely no more. Because the next morning, as she stepped out of her penthouse and stood outside her door, her chocolate brown irises collided with midnight orbs that stared at her from across the hallway. It was then that a genuine smile crept upon Maria Batchelder's beautiful face, somehow magnifying her radiance in the eyes of the knight.

_Her__ knight_.

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><p>Once again, I'll edit this later lol. When I have the time . . . actually . . . I still haven't edited chapter 1 haha.<p>

Anyways, like I said above, **YOU ****GUYS ****ARE ****FRICKIN ****' ****AMAZING! **73, SEVENTY-THREE, reviews for 1, ONE, chapter? You guys are INSANE . . . and I frickin' love you! But darn, you got my hopes up though, because I _know_ there's absolutely no way that I will EVER get that many reviews again. Feel free to prove me wrong though :/

So, ahem, does ANYONE know who her "knight" is? I kinda made it obvious lol. Anyways, I don't want to do this but if less than 15 people review, I'm going to have to make her "knight" a creepy old man who was watching her lmao and not the schmexy man you guys all want it to be. Haha ^^

Now, I'm going to talk about updating intervals. So, actually, because you guys reviewed so awesomely, I began writing this chapter right away! But then I got schoolwork dumped on me and I had to find time in between that time to finish it. I was really, _really_ SHOCKED at how many people reviewed. Y'know, since it's not your typical high-school story, and it just SHOCKED me lol. But yeah, are you guys actually interested in this? Or did you take pity on me lol?

Anyways, please review. In ALL of my stories, the second chapter ALWAYS gets fewer reviews than the first. I'd like to change that lol. Hmm . . . actually, you know, that's asking for a lot. Never mind. Unless you're feeling nice then please feel free to review lol! ^^

Once again, you guys are AWESOME! And I can't wait to begin unraveling the mysteries! By the way, if you were/are confused IT'S OKAY, that's my goal lol - to have you guys confused and asking questions. Try to look for the deeper meaning of things, the ways that the characters interact, and just . . . I don't know haha (I'm not an English teacher! :P). But seriously, don't feel embarrassed if you're confused, it's all part of my plan, and feel free to PM me any questions that you're ripping hair over lol (:

OMGOSH! And oh, wasn't Fang all cute and dreamy when he punched that horny doctor in the face! Hotness overload! :F

Oh, I'm also thinking about changing the title to "Iridescent". I got inspired after listening to that song by Linkin Park. Really awesome song.

Review please! And have a nice day! (:


	3. Scars Removed

Hey guys,

So I'm on Easter break right now and I'm trying to update all my stories, but then I'm thinking to myself, "How in the hell am I going to continue writing this story when it takes place way back during Christmas time." So, I decided to take down the "Scars" chapters because it just didn't make sense to me anymore, I wrote it so long ago. And I really didn't want to continue it, knowing that it would have taken place during Christmas while it's like, spring.

And we didn't make it to 290 so there wasn't going to be a Fax kiss anyways :( But anywho, I'm trying to write while I'm on break so hopefully I'll update this story before I go back to school.

If anyone has any ideas or questions, feel free to PM me.

In the meantime, enjoy Easter/Spring break :D

Also, if you _really _wanna read something, please check out my other story, "Of Sun and Moon". Or my collab story "Unbeknownst" that I wrote with desperatelyobvious.

That is all,

Sam (:


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